Teton Chapter, Wyoming Native Plant Society

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Earliest of Spring Flowers

Spring is arriving at its own pace here in Jackson Hole. We are all eager to see flowers!

Early spring flowers hug the warm ground:

Best to hunt along south-facing slopes or sagebrush spots where snow has recently melted and sun has had a chance to warm the ground long enough to encourage both flowers and insects to emerge.

Glistening yellow saucers of Sage Buttercup (Ranunculus glaberrimus) are held just above the ground where sun adds extra warmth beneath the wind. Often one can see large colonies. The north end of Moose-Wilson Road just west of the Murie Center road will soon be aglow.

There are two look-alike species of spring buttercups. This one is Utah Buttercup. Can you tell why?

Utah Buttercup (Ranunculus jovis) has 3-5 parted, lobed to divided leaves. These plants were found in a remnant patch of sagebrush in Wilson.

Sage Buttercup (Ranunuclus glaberrimus) has whole leaves. Note the many yellow anthers surrounding a slightly conical set of pistils in the center. These plants were nestled into the dry slopes of Blacktail Butte.

Tiny Orogenia (O. linearifolia) or Turkey Peas is barely visible amidst withered vegetation from the year before. This member of the parsley family has miniature umbels of dingy white flowers and narrow leaves. Hard to spot.

The flowers of Turkey Peas or Orogenia are truely tiny. Note the leaves are slender like grass.

The underground corms store food over winter – appealing to “turkeys” or– here in Jakcson Hole — sandhill cranes and other critters. These are indeed pea size. (Corms are swollen stems – note the roots come out of the base of the bulge, a clue that all above is stem. Crocus is a corm as well.)

Steer’s-heads (Dicentra uniflora) are also a spring favorite which requires sharp eyes to see. If you are lucky, you may find a stampede of Steer’s-head.

This truly western flower — aptly named Steer’s head – nods just above its bluish-green, divided leaves (two leaves in this picture). Pollinators push in from the sides. The plant is about 1-2″ tall.

The silvery tough leaves, which are shaped like a spade, are wholed into a rosette. The flowers are in clusters on longer stems. Later they will form pairs of balloon-like fruits. Hence the name Twin Bladderpod.

Several other members of the mustard family bloom early.

A somewhat weedy native mustard, Pale Alyssum (Alysum alyssoides) has tiny 4-petaled yellow flowers clustered at the top of 1-2″ stems. As spring goes on, these annuals, perhaps biennials, grow a bit taller and can form colonies in disturbed places. In fact, there are two close look- alikes determined only by their fruits (fruits are important in mustard ID!). A. desertorum has smooth fruits, A. alyssoides hairy fruits.

Earnest botanists and pollinators alike can be “fooled” into thinking a fungus-infected mustard (typically rockcress) is in flower.

Pseudo-flower — looks like this rockcress is in bloom….but not. Look closely.

A rust fungus (Puccinia sp.) causes the mustard to look like it is in flower, deceiving pollinators into spreading spores to other plants. The fungus gets its nutrients from the young plant.

The rust fungus causes the young plant to form pseudo-flowers. Growing into the leaves, using the plant’s nutrients, the fungus causes the leaves to yellow and produce a sugary substance and even fragrance similar to flowers. The yellow pigment, which reflects strongly within the UV spectrum, is particularly bright to the eyes of insects. Attracted, pollinators land and crawl around looking for rewards of pollen or nectar and “disappointed,” depart carrying spores on feet and bodies to more mustard plants. The fungus is spread to benefit the fungus, not the plant or insect. In another twist of the story, at a later stage the fungus on the same plant may produce another type of spore that can infect nearby grasses….and the story is even more complicated than this! We can learn much from our mistakes!

Rockcress (Boechera sp) is often a host plant of the rust fungus. Here the plant is blooming without infection.

Hood’s Phlox (Phlox hoodii) is just beginning to bloom in sagebrush and grassy habitats on slopes. Its fragrant flowers are worth getting down on hands and knees to sniff.

Yellowbells is a member of the Lily Family: count the 6 tepals and 6 anthers.

Let us know what you find!

Wind-pollinated flowers are stretching out on shrubs and trees.

Wetlands such as those found along Moose-Wilson Road are habitat for two wind-pollinated species in flower now.

Wind pollinated flowers are not fancy. There is no reason to show-off to the wind which cannot see. Instead, flowers are often very inconspicuous with male and female flowers often on different plants or different parts of the same plant to avoid inbreeding. Often wind-pollinated plants grow in colonies, to better the odds for catching pollen. Pollen is abundant, again placing more bets in the gamble for successful wind pollination. It is fascinating to look very closely at the many tiny flowers arranged in “catkins.” See if you can tell which catkins are males, which females.

At first rusty brown, then stretching to yellow, male catkins of alder (Alnus incana var. tenuifolia) dangle in breezes near wetlands. Each dangle or “catkin” includes dozens of flowers.

A bit back on the same branch, separate, stouter female catkins cluster in 3-4s. The female stigmas stick out beyond scales which protect them.

Later these structures will harden into brown “cones” which will open to relsease seeds in the fall. They persist into the next year, helping to identify this wetland shrub as an alder.

Willows (Salix spp.) produce upright “pussies” or male and female catkins, which are on separate plants to assure cross-pollination.

Some willows rely on wind to carry pollen to a nearby female plant–a chancy bet. Others feature nectar glands and colorful stigmas and anthers to attract pollinators to do the job.

In the same family as willows (Salicaceae), Aspen trees (Populus tremuloides) appear “fuzzy” with long silvery catkins. Resembling furry gray caterpillars, 3-4” catkins have anthers tucked within small scales with tufts of hairs. See if the anthers have released yellow pollen yet. Can you find the smaller female catkins with red stigmas on separate trees nearby?

Female aspen catkins. Note the silvery white hairs which are attached to the greenish scales. The marroon protrusions within are female stigmas. Each scale protects the delicate fertile parts. There are dozens of flowers in each elongated catkin.

Enjoy investigating the flowers of spring. It is only the beginning of botanical adventures to come.